Anchor



Sept. 5,V 1944.. w. WARREN AC'HO n Filed May 273, 1942 INVENTOI. Mz. rsei MRkE/v,

BY I

01u a-g y ATTORNEYS .fw/fm. .a @a 7 1.15% .EJ

- \\/A Il A \v Patented Sept. 5, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE l 2,357,368; f 1' f y ANCHOR` Walter F. Warren, Hermosa Beach, Calif., assign-` Aor, bymesne assignments, to Cooper Aircraft Moor'mgA Co., a copartnership Application May 23, 1942, Serial No. 444,210 3 Claims. (C1. 1789-92) This invention relates to anchors of the type that can be quickly set into and removed from the ground,V and is particularly useful for military uses, such as the mooring of aircraft on the ground.

The present invention is a modication of the.

anchor disclosed in my application Serial No. 420,391, filed November 25, 1941.

An object of the present invention is to provide an anchor structure that is simple and rugged and reliable in service'.

A more specic object is to provide a screw with ample strength and long life that is relatively simple to construct. y

Other more'specic objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description which refers to the drawing of a particular embodiment of the invention.

Briefly, the anchor in accordance with the present invention consists of a tubular member having a screwthereon, whereby it may be forced into the ground by rotation and having` flukes which are contained within the body of the tubular member while the latter is being screwedY into the ground, but are forced out into solid ground that has been undisturbed by the screw after the member has been set to the desired depth. Such devices are broadly old and the present invention resides in details that result in a more rugged, simple and reliable device. g

One such detail is a simple and mechanically strong structure for expanding and retracting the nukes.

Another detail is a simple, but effective, cornbination of abail on the housing of the anchor and a turning member for expanding the ukes with a handle, whereby torque may be applied either to the housing to screw the anchor into the ground, or to the fluke-expanding member alone to expand or retract the iiukes.

Other features involved in the invention will become apparent from the detailed description that refers to the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation view of my anchor shown fully set in they ground with its ukes expanded;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the anchor with the flukes contracted;v

Fig. 3 is a cross section in the plane III-III of Fig'. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail longitudinal section through the lower part of the anchor, taken at right angles to the section of Fig. 2; and' Fig. 5 is an elevation view with parts broken away of a coring tool for'making a hole in which to install the anchor.

Referring iirst to Fig; 1, the ancho-r therein disclosed comprises as its main external elements a tubular housing I 0 terminating at its lower end in a point II and having a screw flange I2 positioned a short distance above the point I I. The housing I6 is surmounted by a cap I3 having an eye I4 therein for receiving a cross bar I5 for turning it.` There is secured tothe housing I0, just below the cap i3, ya reinforcing collar I6 to which is hinged a bail il. In use, an anchor line I8 may be attached to the bail I'I and extended to the object to be anchored.

Referring to Fig. 2 the main portio-n of the housing I0 consists ofv a tube or sleeve I9 to the lower end of which there is attached a casting 2l) having the screw flange I2 formed integral therewith. The casting 20 may be 'internally threaded at 'its upper end for joinder to the externally threaded lower end of the sleeve I9. After the parts are screwed together they may be welded, as indicated at The casting 20 has aninternal bore aligned with the internal bore of the sleeve I9 for guidingly supporting a carriageblock 22 which cooperates with a pair of flukes 23 vand 213 which are adapted to extend through Yopposite openings 25 and 26 in the casting 2B below the screw ange I2 thereon. Each of theiiukes comprises a flat plate portion 21 having a chisel edge 23 at its free end and having a reinforcing rib 29 extending along its upper side :and terminating in a hinge lug MJ. The two hinge lugs .4B are positioned alongside each other within a slot in the'lower end of the carriage block 22, and are pivotally secured Yto the block by a pin 30.

When the flukes 23 and 24 are fully retracted, as shown in Fig.. 2 (at which time the carriage block 22 is in extreme upper position), the beveled lower ends 28 of the fiukes form continuations of the point I I and the lukes substantially fill and close the recesses or openings 26 through which they are adapted t-o be projected, to thereby prevent, as much as possible, the entry of soil into the housing.

The flukes are expanded into the holding position shown in Fig. 1 by forcing the carriage block 22 downwardly within the casting 20 by a rod 32 which is threaded into the block 22 and locked with a taper pin 33. The rod 32 extends upwardly through the sleeve I9 and may be provided with flanges 34 at intervals therealong,

. which are slidable within the sleeve I9 to prevent buckling of the rod 32 when it is in compression, The upper end of the rod is provided with screw threads 35 engaged by a nut member 36 rotatable in the sleeve I9. The nut member 36 has ner threads at the extreme upper end of its bore, whereby it is joined to a threaded stem 31, the head of which constitutes the cap I3. To prevent the entry of dirt into the mechanism at the upper end, the cap I3 is preferably provided with an annular groove 38 which receives the upper end of the sleeve I9, thereby providing an effective seal. The stem 31 is preferably locked to the nut member 36 by a taper pin 39 so that the nut member 36 and stem 31 and cap I3 function as an integral unit when assembled.

The carp I3 is rotated to move the rod 32 and the carriage block 22 up and down, and hence the nut member 36 must be restrained against longitudinal motion, although it must turn within the sleeve I9; hence a lock collar 40 is secured inside the sleeve I9 at its upper end, this collar surrounding the stem 31 and bearing against the cap I3 at its upper end and against the nut member 36 at its lower end. The collar 40 is secured to the sleeve I9 by four screws 4I (Fig. 3) which extend through the reinforcing flange I6 on the sleeve. The reinforcing sleeve I6 is solidly secured to the sleeve I9, a-s by welding 43 at its upper and lower edges.

.'Ihe bail I1 is of suicient length to swing over the top of the cap I3, as shown in Fig. 2. It is rpivotally connected to the flanges I6 by drive pins 45 which are forced into apertures provided therefor in the flange I6 and locked in place by tapered pins 46.

In the construction of the device, the lcollar 40 is first assembled on the stem 31 'and then the stem is screwed into the nut member 36 and the tapered pin 39 is installed. The foregoing operations are performed while the assembly of stem 31, collar 40 and nut member 36 is removed from the sleeve I9. The assembly is then slid into the tube and the collar 40 locked in place by inserting the screws 4 I.

The anchor may be operated as follows:

First a hole of substantially the diameter of the sleeve I9 is preferably made in the ground to the full depth to which the anchor is to be set, if the ground is hard. A suitable tool for making the hole is shown in Fig. 5, and consists of a strong, thin-walled pipe having a sharp lower edge 5I and having a drivecap 52 on its upper end.

The pipe 52 may be driven into the ground with a mallet and then pulled out, carrying a core of earth with it and leaving a hole of approximately the diameter of the anchor tube I9. The cap 52 of the coring tool is provided with artransverse aperture 53 into which the handle I5 may be inserted to pull the cap out of the ground. Removal of the pifpe from the ground can sometimes be facilitated by rotating it before it is pulled, or while it is being pulled. 'I'he cap 52 is also p-rovided with a vertical hole 54 through which any suitable rod or stick may be inserted to dislodge the core of earth from the tool before it is used again.

The lower end of the anchor is inserted in the hole prepared for it and then the bar I5 is inserted through the hole I4 in the cap I3 while the bail I1 is in vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2, after which the bar is rotated. Initial rotation rotates the cap I3 and the nut 36 through a small angle until the bar I5 bears against the side arms of the bail I1. Thereafter continued rotation of the bar I5 rotates the entire anchor, causing the screw flanges I2 to screw their way down into the earth until the anchor has been inserted to the desired depth.

The next step is to set the ilukes 23 and 24 into extended position, as shown in Fig. 1. This is done by removing the bar I5 from the eye I4 and rocking the bail I1 into lower position, after which the bar I5 is reinserted in the eye I4 and rotated. This rotates the nut member 36 relative to the sleeve I9, the latter being restrained from rotation by the friction of the earth engaging the anchor, particularly the lower part having the iianges I2 thereon. The cooperating threads on the nut member 36 and the rod 32 are preferably left-hand threads so that continued rotation of the cap I3 clockwise forces the rod 32 and the carriage block 22 and the nukes 23 and 24 downwardly. During this downward movement the upper ends of the flukes rpivot about the pin 30, while the lower ends of the flukes are swung outwardly by shoulders 56, against which the under surfaces of the flukes bear. Final downward movement of the block 22 extends the flukes into substantially horizontal position, as shown in Fig. l. The bar I5 vmay then be removed, if desired, and used to set another anchor. The anchor line is then attached to the bail I1.

When the anchor is screwed into the ground, it will preferably be stopped in a position such that the bail I1 swings in a plane extending through the object to be anchored.

During expanding movement of the lukes 23 and 24 substantial pressure is developed between the shoulders 56 and the undersides of the flukes. It is, therefore, usually desirable to provide a U-shaped insert member 51 of hard material as a bearing member at this point. The U-shaped member 51 may t over a tongue 58 provided in the casting 20 and be secured in place by a screw 59 extending through the side arms of the member 51 and the tongue 58.

When the anchor is to be removed the cap I3 is rotated in the opposite direction with the bar I5, causing the nut member 36 to elevate the rod 32 and the carriage block 22 to pull the flukes back into the bore of the anchor. During this movement the upper edges of the iiukes bear against the shoulders 6I and 62 at the upper edges of the apertures 25 and 26, respectively. The casting 20 is relatively strong adjacent the shoulder 62 because of the presence of the screw ange I2. It is desirable to reinforce the casting adjacent the shoulder 6I by providing a narrow auxiliary screw flange 63. In general, the force required to retract the flukes is much less than that required to' set them and it is not necessary to provide special hardened material at the shoulders 6I and 62. Y

After the iiukes have been completely retracted the anchor may be withdrawn from the ground by first removing the cross bar I5 from the eye I4, raising the bail I1 into vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2, Aand reinserting the bar I5 through both-the eye I4 and the bail I1, and rotating the bar in counterclockwise direction to engage the bail I7 and rotate the entire anchor in counter-clockwise direction.

Although it is usually desirable to employ the setting tool shown in Fig. 5, it is not essential that a hole be made with the setting tool to the full depth of the anchor. Particularly in soft, loose earth it may be desirable to make only a shallow hole, or none at all, to start the anchor into the' ground. Y

It is to be understood that although for the purpose of explaining the invention a particular embodiment thereof has been described in great detail, various departures from the exact construction shown can be made without departing from the invention, which is to be limited only to the extent set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An anchor of the type described comprising a hollow tubular body member having openings for lukes therein, flukes within said tubular member expansible through said openings, carriage means reciprocable within said tubular member for expanding and contracting said flukes, a pair of cooperating threaded members positioned at least partially within said tubular member with one of' said threaded members extending from the upper end thereof and having a cross hole therein for the insertion of a turning rod, means for restraining said one threaded member against longitudinal movement while permitting rotation thereof with respect to said tubular member, means connecting said other threaded member to said carriage -for reciprocating it in response to rotation of said one threaded member to expand or retract said flukes, and a bail pivotally mounted on said tubular member, the axis of the bail being below said cross hole in said one threaded member, and the transverse portion of the bail being above said transverse hole when the bail is in vertical position, wherebyv a cross member can be inserted through said Cri transverse hole alone to turn said one threaded member relative to said tubular member when the bail is in lower position and is insertable in both said transverse hole andthe bail when the( latter is in vertical position to rotate the entire anchor.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1, in which said means for preventing longitudinal motion of said one threaded member includes a thrust collar within said tubular member substantially juxtaposed Ato the pivot axis of said bail, and said means for pivotally connecting said bail to said tubular member includes a reinforcing flange extending all around said tubular member, with means for locking said reinforcing flange to said collar, and means for pivotally mounting said bail to said ange.

3. An anchor of the type described comprising a tubular member composed of a pipe section and y a cast section secured to the lower end of the pipe section, said cast section having openings therein for the projection of flukes and having an integral thread flange thereon for screwing the anchor into the earth, said thread flange extending immediately above one of the said fluke openings for reinforcing said casting at that point,

and an auxiliary short screw flange positioned immediately adjacent said other fluke opening, flukes adapted to be projected through the fluke openings, carriage means within the tubular member, and means pivotally connecting one end of each fluke to the carriage means, means for moving said carriage vertically within the tubular member to set and retract the flukes, said tubular member having means disposed therein between said flukes when the latter are in retracted position for bearing against the undersides of the ukes and projecting the free ends of the lukes outwardly and upwardly in response to downward movement of said carriage means.

WALTER F. WARREN.' 

